To The Point renames science body

London consultancy To The Point has been appointed to rebrand the British Association for the Advancement of Science, after chasing the contract for four years. The organisation will now be known as the British Science Association.

Following a three-way creative pitch in May, To The Point won the contract having originally responded to the organisation’s decision to rebrand in 2004 with a written proposal. At the time, the BSA expressed a desire for the brand to engage more people with science.

Simon Hutton, managing director of To The Point, says that some resistance at the institution to a change of name held progress back. He says, ‘There’s a board of scientists and some of them didn’t want a name change.’

Philip Wilson, director of development at the BSA, says that registering the new name delayed the process. ‘While I was waiting for the trademark to come through, I started to talk to the design consul – tancies,’ he says. ‘It took almost a year.’

Under the old name (current logo pictured), the institution was often confused with British Airways when ab breviated to The BA. Wilson says, ‘This could be confusing for people un familiar with our work.’

Hutton adds, ‘The name was stopping funding. People would say, “Why do we want to put money into British Airways?”.’

A new logo will be designed, brand guidelines developed and sub-brand logos reworked for departments and events.

Hutton says, ‘There are complex guidelines to introduce colour-coding and typographic styling,’ and adds, ‘The BSA is involved in so many projects, it filters through all levels of the organisation.’

The new identity will aim to unite the British Science Fes tival, which takes place at a different university each year, the National Science and Engineering Week, and the Crest award scheme – an engineering and technology initiative.

The new logo will be launched at the House of Commons in January 2009.